History of Rhud
The history of Rhud is punctuated with periodic tribulation and upheaval. As such, many of the more accurate histories are lost, and much of even recent history is shrouded in myth. Oral histories form the core of many peoples' knowledge of the past, and there are many details that do not match up. Origin Myths According to the Kadrak traditions, the first being was Aestiir, the sky god, the breath of life in all things. She had several children by a mysterious father who left when they were young. Rhud was the eldest and fairest of Aesthir's 12 children. The lot of them lived together in a grand house, singing and dancing for eons. One day, the father returned, enraged that Aestiir had not shared the knowledge of him and his ways with the children, as he ahd instructed. In his anger, he slew Aestiir. When her children attacked, the father slew them in turn with his cunning sorceries. Rhud was last, and managed to kill her father, but not before he poisoned her. Rhud had magics of her own; different from her fathers, that her mother had taught her. She was able to suspend herself between life and death, and in doing so, she saved the spirits of her mother and siblings. In her dreaming, she became a world, and her brothers and sisters became worlds unto themselves; Aestiir became the breath between them and the life in all things; life sprang forth on Rhud and her worlds, animals and plants became the disparate expression of Rhud's dreams made manifest. Little did Rhud know that her father also persisted, and his ghost began to work its way into the worlds. He sought a way to revive himself. Rhud and her siblings were composed in part of his essence, as he was their father; he moved among them and wove himself into the spirit of certain creatures, seeking to weave himself into the fore of the dreaming. The father's malignancy worked itself into the creatures of the many worlds, creating monsters. For an age, they roamed and ravaged. In creating his monsters, the father made a mistake. He breathed life into primitive creatures living in caves, thinking that their intellect would provide him with unstoppable ravagers. In his effort, he erred and created The People-- Humans, Elves, Dwarves, Halflings, and the like. In them, his essance was bonded most perfectly withthat of Aesthir, and these children became in mind and spirit as a minor form of Rhud and her siblings, capable of magic and machinations, good and evil. Early Histories The early histories are mirky and filled with allegory, dreived entirely from unwwritten record. It is known that the early people of Rhud lived traumatic and short lives, as they sought to carve out an existence among the foul beasts and other more mundane dangers. At that time, it is known that Rhud was more temperate, and that oceans and lakes covered the world. Plants and animals abounded alongside the more monstrous creatures. For many ages, the people of Rhud struggled and died against the creatures, and pockets of civilization managed to persist in different parts of the world. In these isolated pockets, different cultures and peoples arose. In some places, the early people dug underground to find sanctuary, and over time the survivors of the horrors they found there became the dwarves. Those who retreated to the plains where they could farm and build fortresses became humans. Some came to be smaller and lived hardscrabble lives in bolt-holes and became the halflings. Others adapted to life in the forests and jungles, and became the elves and Con-Vipa. The Peoples were not the only intelligent creatures on Rhud; aside form animal intellect, there were many monstrous creatures that resulted from the father's earlier experiments. The Goblins, the Orcs, the Giants, the animalistic Obka(such as the Tengu), and various others preceded them, but these were all (to varying degrees) attuned to the father. '''-500 to -300' Among the people of the plains arose a powerful wrrior known as Obrod. He united The Peoples and carved out an empire on the Kadrak plateau. He ruled fairly, tamed many frontiers, and established trade with faraway peoples. When he died, his son Hifen continued his noble efforts. Many of the great ruins found today were built in these centuries. '-300 to -150' Hifen's rule came to a close with treachery-- he was killed by one of his advisors, Girig, who was himself assassinated within two years, and each of his many successors met the same fate. Within fifty years, the empire was fractioned into warring parties. Meanwhile, the world outside began to reflect the turmoil inside. The oceans began to dry up, and the rains stopped falling. Mountains would rise from the ground; some so forcefully that they would fly away into the sky, raining sulfur and lava on those below. The skies darkened, and the forests burned. The Empire was barely able to function. At first, contact with other peoples was lost, then communication with the outer edges of the Empire. Cinneraque stood for some years, but eventually its inhabitants turned to cannibalism, and the earthquakes leveled its spires. A century passed while the remaining few people of Rhud scrabbled in the darkness to survive. '-150 to -50' With its capitol fallen, the empire crumbled. The few survivors wandered into the far reaches of the world in order to persist. During the dark century, unspeakable oozing horrors crept upon the earth and deep within it, scouring Rhud of life. Many of the creatures that had formerly been confined underground began to hunt on the surface once they'd thoroughly hunted the dwarven and halfling habitations. All seemed lost, until one day the clouds parted and the sun shone through again-- although the world was markedly different. In some places, the sun shone unbearingly hot, and the land turned to desert; in others, perpetual twilight prevailed and the land grew cold. The rain never returned, and the vast ocean beds had turned to dust and sand. The Peoples persisted, in small numbers around the world; in some places, they began to build settlements and start again. Following the darkness, it was found that some had the gift for magic. These sorcerous types inspired fear and hatred, and many were hunted down. In secret, cabals of mages, witches, and druids began to seek to understand their craft. '-50 to 0' Intrepid treasure hunters eventually returned to Cinneraque, and in the ruins of the sorceror's palace, they found a man sitting on the throne. His name was Ozram, and from that day, he presided over a growing new empire. The Empire '0 to 208' '''Ozram' began quickly attracting followers, and he set about re-establishing the empure, starting from Cinneraque. Within two generations, the Kadrak people cleared their plateau of the oozing horrors, and of many of the monsters that had come to call it home during the dark times. Using his powerful magic, Ozram banished demons, slew great lizards, and defeated the rebellions that plagued his early empire. Ozram's reign lasted for 50 years, and his son Ako took over. He built the Imperial palace, and established the city of Alabasthir in the wastes. He established the Imperators and the Phalanx, and instituted many of the policies that would come to guide the day to day operations of the Empire. Ako's reign lasted 41 years, and in the last 9 years the Kadrak went to war with the Eastern and Southern warlords; Cinneraque was sacked and Ako was killed. Of his offspring that went into hiding, only his son Kod survived. During this time, many fled the Kadrak plateau, and the oldest Wasteland settlements date to this period. Kod remained in hiding for 11 years, eventually raising an army in the mountains and retaking Cinneraque. After re-establishing nominal order, he set about purging those he found unfaithful to his order, and during this time the cult of the God-King began to take root. From Kod onward, the Emperors of Kadrak derived their power from divine mandate. Kod's rule lasted 62 years, and the final few decades were punctuated by his wickedness and paranoia. kod sent agents and armies into the wasteland, destroying settlements and taking slaves. In this time, Alabasthir was sacked and burned when one of his children was found to be marshalling forces there. Kod had made few friends, but he held absolute power. He trusted few of even his own children, and only his daughter Ilmatra survived his purges. She was known as the holy Empress, and it is said that she survived his purges by being wholly blameless of fault. The truth is that she understood the value of popularity, and when she assumed the throne, an era of peace and prosperity ensued. Since the days of Ozram the world had continued to grow more uninhabitable, but at a very slow rate. Every few years a well would dry up or grow salty; new plagues sprang up, and incursions from the south frequently devastated the population. Ilmatra fortified the southern border and established peace in the East. Her reign lasted 55 years, and in the last years, her children began to bicker over succession. '208-236' A bloody war ensued that devastated the peninsula. The Empire was segmented between elements loyarl to each of her 5 children. 2 factions were defeated in the opening months, and the remaining 3 battled for 6 years. During this struggle, the Empire was devastated. In the end, Bouros killed or exiled the other claimants and assumed the throne. He has reigned for 29 years, and has somewhat re-consolidated the Empire during that time. He has brought the army under his control, and maintains a loyal cadre of adepts and mages that serve as his agents. He has rebuilt Cinneraque to its greatest glory, and his 100 sons act as his generals and lieutenants. Although Bouros has rebuilt the military to near its greatest height, the rest of the empire lays in disarray. Most of the cities of the Kadrak are in disrepair or ruin; the slow desertification of Rhud has continued, and there is no communication with the East. The Emperor is said to have cast his eye to the Wastes, and the settlements that have blossomed in the desert heat. He needs slaves to rebuild his cities, and word has it that he has dispatched his sons to find and sack these far-flung havens.